Customer Support: First point of contact for our customers

Our Customer Support team steps in when Collenda customers need help. Team leader Sören Morgener explains in an interview how his department works and how it will be developed in the future.

How many requests for help do you receive per week/month?
Sören Morgener Of course, this varies according to the season, but there are usually 500-700 requests per month. On peak days, we receive about 50 – 60 requests. The resolution rate of the enquiries we receive is around 90 %. However, it can happen that an enquiry has to be passed on to another department, in which case I am the interface.

For example?
Sören Morgener If a customer wants to book a training course, the sales department is usually involved. If a configuration has to be changed on the programme itself, it may be that Development takes over. Customers who are still in project status may be supported by the Professional Services department.

What channels do clients use to get in touch with Collenda?
Sören Morgener We work with three official channels: 1) the telephone, which is monitored by our 1st-level agents. 2.) E-mail – there is a group mailbox. For every incoming e-mail from registered persons, a ticket is automatically created. 3.) Our portal, where our customers can log in and create tickets on their own. Then we have something like an unofficial fourth channel, namely when requests come to us via other departments.

What is a typical customer request?
Sören Morgener Of course, this can be very individual. One example is that the programme refers to a data record that no longer exists. For example, because the customer has deleted this record. In this case, the error message “POL17” pops up. We check this and usually correct the problem via an SQL query.

How does the JIRA ticket system work?
Sören Morgener When a ticket is received, a clock starts. I am then in the role of coordinator, who takes care of what. Three colleagues are 1st-level support. In the so-called “call take”, the first thing is to accept and collect enquiries by phone. Then the 2nd level support comes into play. Seven agents deal with the enquiries in detail. The ticket system is also used to inform customers about important changes or possible faults in the respective programme, for example, in so-called announcements.

Have your colleagues undergone special training?
Sören Morgener We have specialists working in Customer Support. For example, one of the employees who looks after our bank customers is a banking specialist herself, there are experts for the corporate or public sector, etc.

What options do customers have in the Self Service Portal?
Sören Morgener There are several areas: 1.) Ask a question, 2.) Report an error, 3.) Request a change – a new addition is 4.) “Suggest a feature” which our customers can use to make suggestions for new functions, for example.

Is customer satisfaction measured?
Sören Morgener After each closed ticket, the customer has the opportunity in JIRA to rate our service according to a star system from 1-5 or to create a comment. It is important to us to identify problems or dissatisfaction at an early stage so that we can take proactive action.

What is your job as Teamleader of Customer Support?
Sören Morgener On the one hand, I am of course the contact person for my team members and take care of organisational matters. General administrative tasks: for example, planning holidays or staff availability, administration and configuration of our ticket system JIRA, which our customers can use for enquiries. I also monitor whether the service and solution times agreed in our contracts are adhered to, the so-called Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

These are different?
Sören Morgener Yes, you can agree on different availability levels with us, in which times and service scope are regulated. In an emergency, for example if business processes are blocked, we can of course help at very short notice.